SECOND HALF
FIRST HALF
PREGAME
FINAL: Bowling Green 73, Kent State 66
The stretch of misses by Jackson, Brewer and Goodson after cutting the lead to 53-50 loom large.
Bowling Green tried to help out by missing some free throws down the stretch and Manley hit a few threes, including one from NBA distance at the top, but it's hard to overcome all of the misses on top of the rim.
Kent State only shot 15 three pointers in its 63 shots, and still the Flashes shot just 34.9 percent from the field (22-for-63).
Manley led with 16. Brewer scored 14 and Henniger added 10 points.
Goodson's 1-for-12 from the field was a killer. The senior tries so hard, but continues to struggle.
Jehvon Clarke scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Falcons. Holmes added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Parker scored 12 for BGSU.
3:16 ... Flashes just can't make a layup. Jackson, Brewer and Goodson all miss at the rim on consecutive plays ... the Falcons turn all three into buckets on the other end, the last leading to a potential three-point play.
If Clarke hits the free throw out of this timeout, the Falcons lead will be 59-50 after KSU had pulled to within three.
Goodson is now 1-for-12 from the field in just 11 minutes.
5:33 ... Kent State making a run after being down by as many as 12 points earlier in this half.
Two Kellon Thomas free throws have trimmed the Bowling Green advantage to 53-50.
Flashes getting a great whistle. Some very questionable calls have helped KSU cut into this lead.
Demarkeo Lyche has 8 points on 3-of-6 from field, 2-of-4 from the line off of the bench. That's a killer. He is averaging just 1.3 points and shooting both the two and the three below 28 percent.
11:39 ... Kent State will go to the free-throw line on every foul the rest of the way. The Flashes, who are 12-for-16 from the line tonight, need to take advantage of that. They are getting a very good whistle tonight, and that hasn't happened very often this season.
The Flashes also need Darren Goodson to get going. He is 1-for-10 from the field tonight, and on the bench. He'll be needed at some point tonight, so he has to stay positive.
Two Dev Manley threes have kept Kent State in this one.
The Flashes have gone small over the last few minutes with four guards, but that's led to problems rebounding the basketball. Fortunate to be within nine right now. Keep attacking the rim and getting to the foul line.
15:49 ... Still a strange game. Bowling Green is playing some pretty sloppy basketball, yet the Falcons lead by 11 at 41-30.
The stretch of misses by Jackson, Brewer and Goodson after cutting the lead to 53-50 loom large.
Bowling Green tried to help out by missing some free throws down the stretch and Manley hit a few threes, including one from NBA distance at the top, but it's hard to overcome all of the misses on top of the rim.
Kent State only shot 15 three pointers in its 63 shots, and still the Flashes shot just 34.9 percent from the field (22-for-63).
Manley led with 16. Brewer scored 14 and Henniger added 10 points.
Goodson's 1-for-12 from the field was a killer. The senior tries so hard, but continues to struggle.
Jehvon Clarke scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Falcons. Holmes added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Parker scored 12 for BGSU.
3:16 ... Flashes just can't make a layup. Jackson, Brewer and Goodson all miss at the rim on consecutive plays ... the Falcons turn all three into buckets on the other end, the last leading to a potential three-point play.
If Clarke hits the free throw out of this timeout, the Falcons lead will be 59-50 after KSU had pulled to within three.
Goodson is now 1-for-12 from the field in just 11 minutes.
5:33 ... Kent State making a run after being down by as many as 12 points earlier in this half.
Two Kellon Thomas free throws have trimmed the Bowling Green advantage to 53-50.
Flashes getting a great whistle. Some very questionable calls have helped KSU cut into this lead.
Demarkeo Lyche has 8 points on 3-of-6 from field, 2-of-4 from the line off of the bench. That's a killer. He is averaging just 1.3 points and shooting both the two and the three below 28 percent.
11:39 ... Kent State will go to the free-throw line on every foul the rest of the way. The Flashes, who are 12-for-16 from the line tonight, need to take advantage of that. They are getting a very good whistle tonight, and that hasn't happened very often this season.
The Flashes also need Darren Goodson to get going. He is 1-for-10 from the field tonight, and on the bench. He'll be needed at some point tonight, so he has to stay positive.
Two Dev Manley threes have kept Kent State in this one.
The Flashes have gone small over the last few minutes with four guards, but that's led to problems rebounding the basketball. Fortunate to be within nine right now. Keep attacking the rim and getting to the foul line.
15:49 ... Still a strange game. Bowling Green is playing some pretty sloppy basketball, yet the Falcons lead by 11 at 41-30.
Flashes running some good offensive sets and getting nothing out of them. Goodson just missed right on top of the basket. He is 1-of-8 field and just hasn't been able finish at the rim.
The good news is he just drew a foul in the right block and will head to the foul line after this timeout. Flashes are 9-for-10 from the line tonight. Need two here, cut it under 10 and then start a little run.
FIRST HALF
HALFTIME ... Bowling Green 31, Kent State 26
This is a strange one.
It feels like Kent State is controlling most of the action, yet the Flashes trail 31-26.
The Falcons have been very sloppy, turning the ball over eight times, and almost losing the ball even more ... like on the last play of the half when Lyshe dribbled the ball off of his knee, but right to a teammate. Lyshe got it back and flipped in a layup just before the buzzer.
KSU is getting to the rim and often not finishing. The Flashes have attempted just four threes in their 27 shots. But they've made just eight field goals. Three of those makes have come on four Kris Brewer shot attempts. He is also 1-for-1 from three and 4-for-4 from the foul line in scoring a game-high 11 points in the first half.
Cameron Black has been a problem for the Flashes again, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the post and also getting five rebounds.
Kent State simply has to do a better job defending the paint.
A big reason the Falcons are leading this one is a 25-12 advantage on the boards. Fortunately, their nine offensive rebounds have led to just seven second-chance points.
Kris Brewer during halftime layup lines ... clapping his hands, nodding and telling his teammates "come on guys, let's make some shots. Let's make some shots."
3:09 ... Kent State switched to a 2-3 zone over the last few minutes, and it has Bowling Green's offense out of sorts.
The Falcons are chucking up air balls and turning the ball over on alternating possessions.
Flashes seem to have some momentum now, cutting it to 23-20 after a free throw by Spicer.
7:57 ... Khaliq Spicer has played very well in an extended shift since checking in at the the 15-minute mark. Two blocked shots and a nice finish at the rim.
And even still, Kent State is having some trouble with the Bowling Green bigs. It is now 15-13 Bowling Green.
Spicer has brought energy after giving an unusually inconsistent effort vs. Buffalo. That's the reason he didn't start, and Spicer got the message. He is a great kid and some of that effort may have been due to being wide eyed against probably the best player in the MAC in that one.
15:33 ... Kent State trails 8-5 at the first timeout, and the Flashes are having a difficult time with the size of the Falcons.
This is a strange one.
It feels like Kent State is controlling most of the action, yet the Flashes trail 31-26.
The Falcons have been very sloppy, turning the ball over eight times, and almost losing the ball even more ... like on the last play of the half when Lyshe dribbled the ball off of his knee, but right to a teammate. Lyshe got it back and flipped in a layup just before the buzzer.
KSU is getting to the rim and often not finishing. The Flashes have attempted just four threes in their 27 shots. But they've made just eight field goals. Three of those makes have come on four Kris Brewer shot attempts. He is also 1-for-1 from three and 4-for-4 from the foul line in scoring a game-high 11 points in the first half.
Cameron Black has been a problem for the Flashes again, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the post and also getting five rebounds.
Kent State simply has to do a better job defending the paint.
A big reason the Falcons are leading this one is a 25-12 advantage on the boards. Fortunately, their nine offensive rebounds have led to just seven second-chance points.
Kris Brewer during halftime layup lines ... clapping his hands, nodding and telling his teammates "come on guys, let's make some shots. Let's make some shots."
3:09 ... Kent State switched to a 2-3 zone over the last few minutes, and it has Bowling Green's offense out of sorts.
The Falcons are chucking up air balls and turning the ball over on alternating possessions.
Flashes seem to have some momentum now, cutting it to 23-20 after a free throw by Spicer.
7:57 ... Khaliq Spicer has played very well in an extended shift since checking in at the the 15-minute mark. Two blocked shots and a nice finish at the rim.
And even still, Kent State is having some trouble with the Bowling Green bigs. It is now 15-13 Bowling Green.
Spicer has brought energy after giving an unusually inconsistent effort vs. Buffalo. That's the reason he didn't start, and Spicer got the message. He is a great kid and some of that effort may have been due to being wide eyed against probably the best player in the MAC in that one.
15:33 ... Kent State trails 8-5 at the first timeout, and the Flashes are having a difficult time with the size of the Falcons.
The combination of Holmes and Black are 4-for-5 in the paint and the Falcons are 4-for-6 overall. The Flashes are 2-for-6, but one of those is a transition three by Brewer on a nice cross-court find by Jackson.
Spicer checking in to add some length defending against Black.
PREGAME
6:59 p.m. ... Changes to the starting lineup are official: Brewer and Henniger in and starting with Jackson, Ortiz and Thomas.
Tisdale, Parker, Clarke, Holmes and Black start for Bowling Green.
Anthem coming up ...
Listen in on WHLO 640 AM and online at http://www.iheart.com/live/Golden-Flashes-Radio-6068/
6:15 p.m. ... Some keys to the game today from head coach Rob Senderoff:
Bowling Green is very opportunistic in transition. They are capable of going on big runs when they are able to get out and run. We saw that as the Falcons jumped out quickly in both halves at Kent back on Feb. 12. In that game, BGSU scored 23 points in transition. KSU has to have two guys get back, keeping the ball out of the paint and locating shooters when the Flacons try to run.
In the half court, keeping the ball out of the paint is just as important. The Falcons score 62 percent of their points in the paint, and that percentage is third in the country. They'll look to post up both Holmes and Black all night long, and the Flashes guards will need to be ready to help out by digging down.
The Falcons play mostly man-to-man, unlike earlier years under Louis Orr. It's an aggressive defense that likes to pressure and get steals. Anthony Henderson and Jehvon Clarke rank No. 4 and 6 in the MAC, respectively, in steals.
5:45 p.m. … Another big game for Kent State tonight as the Golden Flashes try to get back to building momentum into March. After losing to probably the best team in the MAC at the moment on Saturday in Kent, the Golden Flashes hope they don’t need another buzzer-beating shot to escape Bowling Green tonight.
The last meeting in Kent came down to a last second three by Devareaux Manley from the left corner that lifted the Flashes to a 62-61 win on Feb. 12. The Falcons jumped out to a quick start in both halves in that game. They also found a career game by Kent native Cameron Black when the 6-foot-10 center scored 18 and grabbed nine rebounds.
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| Pre-game warmups at the Stroh Center at Bowling Green |
The Flashes have spent lots of time talking about defending Black in the post, and really about handling the Bowling Green size as a whole.
With an potential change in the starting lineup, Kent State could lose a bit of size to open this one. We’ll see if they still use Chris Ortiz to guard the 6-foot-7 Spencer Parker in the three or if Ortiz slides down to the four.
Bowling Green relies of course on its starting five for just about all of its production. In the last meeting, the Kent State bench outscored the Falcons 45-2. That was also the first game back from injury for Craig Sealey, who was 1-for-6 from the field with two rebounds in 12 minutes and put up all of the numbers for the Falcons reserves. The BGSU bench accounted for five points and no rebounds in a loss at Miami on Feb. 23 and just four points and sxi rebounds in a Feb. 20 loss to Toledo.
Both of those games were close, though, so this team has not given up on head coach Louis Orr. The Falcons only lost 60-58 to Toledo after BGSU stormed back from a 39-23 halftime deficit to and held the Rockets to just 21 second-half points.
Remember that Derek Jackson had a big game in the last meeting with the Falcons, coming off of the bench to score 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three. He also had four rebounds and two steals. Manley added 14, also off of the bench.
Bowling Green has been a difficult place for Kent State teams in the past. The Flashes only two visits to the Stroh Center have not gone well… Losing 70-55 last year and 74-58 two years ago. Neither game was close.
Both Stroh and old Anderson Arena, to me, are places where the tide always seems to turn. When Kent State was going well, as they were in 2008 when they cracked the top 25 a few days earlier, it was embarrassed by Bowling Green at Anderson. When things weren’t going so well for some teams, Anderson was a place where the Flashes got themselves back on track.
I felt good about Kent State’s chances heading into the last two visits here at the Stroh Center, and the Flashes weren’t competitive in either. With a younger group that capable of going through growing pains on any given night, it’s almost comforting not to feel as confident tonight.
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